Procrastination without hurrying for any

I realise that the women bishops thing was last week's news and that a week is quite a long time in the fast moving world of blog-land. But it's taken until today for me to muster the motivation to write something about the affair. Even now I can hardly be bothered. I mean, I'm not an Anglican and I don't believe in diocesan bishops, whether male or female. Bishops or overseers are simply elders of local congregations. They are not mitre wearing, crook wielding princes of the church. And according to the Bible, elders are male and that's that. It's not really my concern as a Reformed Baptist that the ordination of women bishops failed to attract enough support in each of the Church of England's electoral collages. 

So, why am I writing about this now? It's because this issue has highlighted the anomaly of us having an Established Church. In the wake of the no vote, or at least the not enough yeses vote, outraged MPs have weighed in, demanding that the CofE gets its house in order and fast track the ordination of women bishops. Some mutter darkly that the State Church should not be exempt from equality legislation. David Cameron has demanded that the Church of England, "get with the programme", whatever that means. The fact that half of the opponents to women bishops were women rather than crusty old male chauvinists (see here) doesn't seem to figure. 

The trouble is that as the Established Church, with bishops in the House of Lords, the Church of England is vulnerable to such Erastian pressure. Erastianism is the view that the Church is in effect the religious arm of the State and should jolly well do what it's told by its political masters. Henry VIII was an Erastian. So, it seems is David Cameron, although in a much nicer way. After all, not even the Tories are the 'nasty party' any more. 

I'm a Free Church man. I don't believe in the establishment principle. Church and State are distinct institutions, with very different roles and functions. What God hath separated man shall not join together. Robert Browne, seceded from the Church of England in the 1580's over just this point. The Separatist wrote an influential book Reformation Without Tarrying for Any, arguing that the church should not wait for permission from the State to instigate reformation according to the Word of God. The treatise, which outraged the authorities, was in effect his death warrant. But by the same token, the church should not give in to pressure from the State to make changes to its biblically grounded teaching and practice. 

The fact that the Church of England is the Established Church complicates matters. If the Church has a say in the State, then the State will demand a say on what happens in the Church. But when it comes to making a decision on women bishops, I suggest that Anglican leaders man-up and resist the pressure from politicos rush things through. Procrastination without hurrying for any, if you like. That should give some time for an accommodation to be reached with opponents of the measure. However, there is one thing that cannot be delayed and that is the disestablishment of the Church of England that will free it from from political interference in the first place.

What Evangelicals are doing in the middle of this unholy muddle, though I can't quite understand. 

Chippenham FIEC 90

John Stevens preaching

Last Thursday half a dozen of our people crammed into a people carrier. For some strange reason I ended up in the boot. We braved a wet and windy night in order to attend our region's FIEC 90th anniversary meeting, held at Ladyfield Evangelical Church, Chippenham. Considering the weather conditions, a good number turned up for the event. The start time was delayed by fifteen minutes to give time for FIEC head honcho, John Stevens to turn up. Traffic problems, exacerbated by the heavy rain, apparently. 

We were treated to a potted history of the FIEC  by Andy Patterson, and saw a video on the FIEC's vision for Pastoral Support, Mission, Training and Practical Services. News was given of initiatives in our area, including the formation of clusters of churches.

John Stevens preached on Philippians 1:1-18. His focus was on 'gospel partnership', which tied in nicely with the FIEC's aim of enabling churches to work together for the sake of the gospel. 

It was good to get a sense of where the FIEC is heading over the next few years. The emphasis on the FIEC as a movement for the re-evangelisation of the UK was welcome. I listened to a recording of a talk given by Robert Letham the other day on Building Christ's Church. He suggested that while Independents might plant new churches in their locality, only Presbyterians were capable of a strategically planting churches right across the nation. Well, the FIEC is now considering planting churches in areas of the country where there is currently no evangelical witness. Indys can and do collaborate. That is what the 'F' in FIEC stands for. 

After the meeting it was a whirl of networking and snatched conversations before braving the rain for the journey home. Apparently John Stevens is now quite famous after being interviewed on my blog. 

EMW Church Officers' Training Days

Check out the Evangelical Movement of Wales' Church Officers' Training Days, 2013. Speakers include Stephen Clark, Stuart Olyott and Peter Milsom. It's for pastors, elders and deacons. Myself and some of our deacons attended last year's event, which was very helpful - see my report.

Serving Today with Grace Baptist Mission

Had an enjoyable day at GBM HQ in Abindgon, recording a series of talks on Jesus "I am" sayings in The Gospel According to John. I've done a bit of radio work before, mainly 'morning thought' type things for BBC Radio Wiltshire and occasionally offering my opinion on topical news items. But the idea with GBM's 'Serving Today' programme is to help African pastors develop their expository preaching skills. The talks took the form of a dialogue between presenter, Andrew Cook and myself on how to preach on the different "I am" sayings. We recorded eight conversations in all, four before and four after lunch. 

The talks were mostly reworked sermons from a series I did on John a while back. The trouble was that when I agreed to do the talks for GBM, I  had forgotten I had handwritten the earlier sermons in the series. It wasn't until John 12 that I switched from handwriting my notes to using Microsoft Word. The effort of trying to decipher my messy handwriting to write up the scripts was a good reminder of why I laid aside my trusty fountain pen in favour of a keyboard. 

Radio-head

This week I've been hammering away at my keyboard, bashing out scripts for Grace Baptist Mission's radio programme, Serving Today. Next Tuesday I'll be heading to GBM's Abingdon HQ to record eight talks on Jesus' "I am" sayings in the Gospel According to John with Andrew Cook. I know there are only seven of them, but the first talk is introductory. 

Also I've been in and out of schools quite a bit. On Tuesday I led a primary school assembly. I'm a parent governor at the local secondary school and we had a committee meeting Tuesday evening. Then it was back to school yesterday for my daughter's Sixth Form Evening. I have another governors' meeting this afternoon. 

What with pastoral visits, Bible Study/Sermon prep and all, I haven't had too much time for reading, but I've got through a few more chapters of Paul Brown's biog of Earnest Kevan and have nearly finished The Unexpected Jesus, by Craig Hovey. His portrait of Jesus certainly isn't one I expected, that's for sure. Look out for a review next week.

I'll be preaching away on Sunday at Gillingham Baptist Church, Dorset, where we used to be members before moving to Westbury. That's Gillingam with the 'Gill' bit pronounced like a fish's gill rather than the girl's name, Gill as in Gillingham, Kent. Although for a Welshman like me, the 'll' in Gillingham should really be spoken with a 'chl' sound like Llanelli. 

Sinners for sale, gifts to share

I have often watched auctions taking place on TV, but I have never attended one in the flesh until now*. I cannot think about auctions without being reminded of an incident in the life of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist preacher, John Elias (1774-1841).

Surprising at it may seem, the 1824 Holyhead Association of the Calvinistic Methodists was disturbed by bouts of drunkenness. John Elias took it upon himself to urge the people to behave soberly and decently. He began with general words of exhortation and then he started to preach....

'I feel within myself this minute,' he cried, 'to offer them [the drunkards] for sale, by auction, to whomsoever will take them, that they might not disturb us any more,' Then at the top of his voice, with his arm outstretched, as if he held them in the palm of his hand, he shouted, 'Who will take them? Who will take them? Churchmen will you take them?' 'We? We in our baptism have professed to renounce the devil and all his works. No; we cannot take them.' Then, after a moments silence, 'Independents, will you take them?' 'What? We? We, ages ago left the Church of England because of her corruption. No; we cannot take them.' Another inerval of silence. 'Baptists, will you take them?' 'We? Certainly not! We dip all our people in water as a sign that we take those who have been cleansed. No; we will not have them.' Silence again. 'Wesleyans, will you take them?' 'What? we? Good works is a matter of life for with us. We do not want them.'

Then he stretched forth his arm once again, as if holding the poor drunkards in his hand; and once again at the top of his voice he shouted. 'Who will take them? Who will take them?' Then suddenly, his whole nature became agitated, His eyes flashed as he turned his head aside, and in a low tone which could be heard by all, he said, 'Methinks I can hear the devil at my elbow saying, "Knock them down to me! I will take them."'

Then, after thirty seconds of dead silence, he cried, 'I was going to say, Satan, that you could have them, but' - looking upwards, he said in a loud, clear, yet gentle voice, 'I can hear Jesus saying, "I will take them! I will take them! Unclean to be washed; drunkards to be sobered; in all their filth and degradation, I will take them, and cleanse them in mine own blood."' The effect of this can be better imagined than described. The ministers, preachers and elders were stunned; and the huge congregation was stirred with a spirit of tumultuous joy and exultation.

John Elias saw clearly that it is not moralising, but the gospel that changes lives: 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. The gospel also motivates us to give, 2 Corinthians 8:9. The fact that Christ has “auctioned us” by his own blood liberates us from selfishness and greed and makes us the kind of cheerful givers that God loves. Good giving is grace-enabled giving. As children of the giving God we give not grudgingly, but gladly. We give for the good of his people and the glory of his name,

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. (2 Cor 9:12-13).

*From a talk given at Leonora Home's 'Gift Day' and 'Auction of Promises'. 

This, that and the other

We were away on holiday last week, in El Campello near Alicante, Spain if you must know. It was warm enough, around 24C most days, to spend time lazing on the almost deserted beach. The scenery was amazing. Craggy peaks, dried up rivers, scrubby, cactus strewn desert and the invitingly warm deep blue sea. 

While propped up against a strategically placed palm tree I managed to finish Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. Also made a start on Unexpected Jesus: The Gospel as Surprise by Craig Hovey. The book is a review copy from the publisher, Cascade Books. Not sure what to make of it yet. Not so much surprised as slightly baffled. 

We arrived home on Friday and I preached twice on Sunday at Providence Church - on 1 John 5:18 and Philippians 3:1-3. Snow, would you believe it, snow - in November,  that and localised heavy flooding prevented some of our people attending the services. Sunny Spain, not. 

The rest of the week so far has involved the regular round of pastoral visits, message preparation, leading meetings, study etc. An added task has been preparing a series of talks on Jesus' "I AM" sayings in John's Gospel for Grace Baptist Mission's Serving Today programme.

Also worked on a talk  for this Saturday's 'Gift Day' and 'Auction of Promises' in aid of Leonora Home. An anecdote from the life of John Elias came in handy. Of which, more later. 

Social Networking

Are you on Facebook? Do you “Tweet”? Are your everyday experiences shared with the world in 140 character chunks? What about a blog on which you sound forth your opinions or chronicle your life for all to see? We live in a connected world of where social networking is all the rage. But “social networking” is a bit of a misnomer. It’s difficult to sustain a conversation with someone when they can’t give you their whole attention because they are too busy twiddling with their Smartphone. Besides, some of the stuff that gets posted online is downright antisocial. People have got themselves into trouble with the law for their malicious Tweets and vile Status Updates. And how many of your Facebook “friends” do you actually know?

Yes, when it comes to social networking many of us are at it in one way or another. It can be a fun way of keeping in touch with family and friends, but like most other aspects of human life cyberspace has its dark side. One of the problems is that Tweets or Status Updates have no ‘tone of voice’. You might type something in jest, with a little slice of ironic humour, but your readers can’t always see that and so you end up unintentionally upsetting someone. And then, if you are over 40 (like me) you may not be up-to-date with the acronyms that fly from teenagers’ keypads. For instance, “LOL” means “laugh out loud”, not “lots of love”. A mum found this out when texting her daughter to say, “Sorry to tell you this, but gran has just passed away. LOL, mum.”

The Bible makes this amazing statement about Jesus, “And the Word became flesh”. (John 1:14) In revealing himself to us most fully, God did not send us an email, or a text message, or a Tweet, or a Status Update, or even a book. He became one of us in the person of his Son, Jesus Christ. As a man Jesus entered into the world of human relationships, with all the joy and pain that entails. He took the time to speak with fishermen, tax collectors, religious leaders, distraught mothers, the diseased and the afflicted. He was a true social networker, as he proclaimed the good news of God’s kingdom to all who would listen.

With Jesus “friendship” means more than belonging to a list on Facebook. He said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13). Jesus came to suffer and die on the cross for our sins so that we might have a relationship with God that is real, personal, and eternal. That is why the Word was made flesh. 

This great fact has implications for Jesus’ followers. There can be no substitute for “in the flesh” fellowship with our fellow-believers. Listening to sermons online is all well and good, but to gather with flesh and blood human beings and listen to another flesh and blood human being proclaim God’s Word is where it’s at. As the apostle John wrote, “Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete.” (2 John 12). Now that's social networking. 

* Based on an article for November's News & Views, West Lavington parish magazine. 

The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness by Timothy Keller

The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness: the path of true Christian joy,

by Timothy Keller, 2012, 10Publishing

In this  modest little ebook, Tim Keller gets to the heart of one of the most pressing issues in our culture. It's the idea that many of the problems we face can be explained in terms of self-esteem, or the lack of it. Criminals are said to behave as they do because they suffer from a lack of self-esteem. The prescription for criminality is therefore higher self-esteem. Those who are accustomed to think too little of themselves need to learn to think more of themselves. 

Keller reflects on this matter in the light of Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 3:21-4:7. The Corinthians were busy bigging up their favoured church leader. They proudly boasted that they followed Paul, or Peter, or Apollos, or whoever. Their boasting made church life into a competitive battle for superiority. Proud egos were being puffed up and touchy egos were getting tetchy. 

Paul, however refused to play the self-esteem game. He didn't care what others thought of him. He didn't even care what he thought about himself.  For the apostle, all that mattered was God's verdict. This is the implication, if we could only grasp it, of justification by faith alone. Self-justifying pride and self-condemning tetchiness are crucified by the fact that God graciously accepts believers as they are on the basis of the finished work of Christ.  

The gospel had so transformed Paul that he was liberated to think of himself less and of the needs of others more. As Keller says, drawing on the teaching of C. S. Lewis. "the essence of gospel-humility is not thinking more of myself or thinking less of myself, it is thinking of myself less." That is the freedom of self-forgetfulness that leads to a life of joyful service. 

This title can easily be read in one sitting, but brevity must not be mistaken for superficiality. Keller unearths some of the hidden problems of the human heart and applies the gospel as the only remedy for sin-sick souls like you and me.

Blogging in the name of the Lord: John Stevens

An interview with FIEC National Director, John Stevens

GD: Hello, John Stevens and welcome to Exiled Preacher. Please tell us a little about yourself.

Hi Guy and thanks for in inviting me to contribute to Exiled Preacher. I became a Christian 24 years ago while I was a law student at Cambridge University. I am married to Ursula and we have four children aged between 10 and 5, including twin girls. We have lived in Market Harborough for just over two years, and moved there when I took up my role as National Director of the FIEC. Before that I was one of the founding Pastors of City Evangelical Church Birmingham, which we planted in 1999, and also the Course Director of the Midlands Ministry Training Course. Birmingham is my home city and I have lived there for most of my life. Prior to becoming a Pastor I taught law in universities for 16 years, including serving 3 years as the Deputy Head of the Law Faculty at the University of Birmingham.

GD: This year marks the 90th anniversary of the FIEC. What is the distinctive role of the Fellowship in the UK Evangelical scene?

The vision of the FIEC exactly the same today as it was when we were founded in 1922, namely to serve the cause of the gospel in our nation by supporting independent churches. Whilst we work in partnership with other confessional evangelicals who share our core convictions, our distinctive contribution is our support for churches with an independent ecclesiology. We believe that this ecclesiology best reflects the biblical teaching on the nature of the church, provides the best opportunity for unencumbered and uncompromised gospel ministry and serves as the best defence against the institutional creep of liberalism and Catholicism, which undermine the gospel. The history of the 20^th century, with the decline and deviation from biblical truth of most of the mainstream UK denominations, bears out this conviction. The FIEC is not a controlling denomination, as we have no control at all over the actions of the local churches that are affiliated to us, and they are free to leave at any time. We are united around core gospel doctrines and, within these boundaries, are a diverse family of churches. Our churches cover a wider social spectrum than conservative evangelical Anglicanism, and we are a truly national movement with churches throughout the UK.

GD: What does being FIEC National Director involve?

My main responsibility is to provide visionary leadership for our family of churches as a whole, which means that I make sure that our central activities are all serving the cause of the gospel by strengthening and supporting our churches. I oversee my team of Directors (Pastoral, Training, Mission, Practical Services, Administration) and represent FIEC at a national level. I spend a great deal of time travelling to preach at our churches (this week I have been in Bournemouth, Southampton, Liverpool, Worcester, Leeds and Bristol!) and meeting other Christian leaders from the wider evangelical constituency. However I do not want to be an administrator or a bureaucrat. I want to lead the FIEC out of my primary gift of preaching and teaching the Bible, and so spend as much time as I can studying, preparing, praying and writing. Guarding this time is hard. I also serve as one of the Pastors of Christchurch Market Harborough, which is a small local church that was planted just over 18 months ago, as I want to make sure that I keep my feet firmly on the ground of local church ministry, with all the joys, sorrows and frustrations this entails.

GD: What is your vision for the future of the FIEC?

The vision of the FIEC is not just my vision, but the vision developed in conjunction with the other Directors, Trust Board and in consultation with the churches. We long for FIEC to be an effective means of advancing the gospel in the UK by ensuring that there is a thriving gospel church in every community, and where this is necessary an independent church in every community. We see ourselves as a mission agency serving the UK. Many independent churches have a great vision and commitment to their local area, and a passionate support for world mission, but many lack a wider vision for their own country. This is perhaps because, in the past, they did not view the UK as a need mission field, but it now clearly is. FIEC seeks to fulfil this “missing middle”. We seek to fulfil this vision by supporting and sustaining the churches that are already part of the FIEC, identifying and training the gifted leaders that will be needed by our churches in the future, facilitating and co-ordinating church planting initiatives in strategic places and where there is no gospel work, and lifting the burden of complying with the ever demanding regulatory framework affecting churches.

It is worth remembering that the central FIEC is still relatively small scale. The total annual budget of the FIEC is still less than that of the single largest of our 509 churches. We hope to become the natural home for all gospel people who share a commitment to our conservative evangelical convictions and our ecclesiology. We hope that many existing independent churches will consider joining the FIEC because they share our gospel vision and want to help to shape and support a vibrant gospel movement. If the institutional pressure on the conservative evangelical Anglicans, who share so much in common with us, causes them to have to leave the Church of England then I would love them to see the FIEC as a natural and welcoming home. I pray that in 20 years’ time there will be thousands, if not millions, of people who have been born again through the faithful gospel witness of FIEC churches, and that there would be no community without a vibrant and growing gospel church. This is not a vision we can accomplish alone, but we can make a significant contribution to the reevangelisation of our nation.

GD: You run a blog called ‘Dissenting Opinion’. What made you enter the world of blogging?

I had long resisted starting a blog. There were several reasons for this. First I am something of a technophobe and wondered whether I would be able to cope! I didn’t really know how to start and what would be involved. This changed when I employed a Digital Strategist at the FIEC to help develop our communications, and he was able to set everything up for me and show me how to use it. Second I wondered whether had anything useful to say that merited staring a blog. The world of blogging seems to be fiercely competitive and I was not sure that I had a contribution to make. However I realised that blogs were now a major means of communicating vision and information, especially with a younger generation, so that blogging had to be a vital part of my role as FIEC Director. I have sought to use my blog to explain the vision and progress of FIEC, to profile the ministry of our churches around the country, to share some of my theological thinking and ideas, and to comment on current affairs and contemporary culture from a Christian perspective. Having started to blog I have enjoyed the opportunity it gives to share thoughts and ideas more widely. It is something of a release for all the ideas that don’t make it into week-by-week expository preaching!

My blog is not an official FIEC blog, and not everything I say is FIEC policy. There is great diversity of theological view within the FIEC over many issues, and my views are certainly not the required views of all FIEC pastors and churches. I hope to stimulate debate and dialogue and to have my own thinking clarified. I have been astonished by the response to my blog and the world-wide readership it has attracted. In the first nine months I have had some 160,000 page views, though I have no idea whether this is below or above average. It does mean that I have probably spoken to more people via my blog over a few months than I have over my entire preaching ministry in churches over the last 20 years!

GD: What are the strengths and weaknesses of blogging as a medium for discussion of theology and church life?

The great strength of blogs is that they give the opportunity for relatively immediate comment, for thinking aloud, and for engagement with others rather than mere statement of opinion. However the weakness of blogs is that they can be superficial, self-serving, and unnecessarily polemical. I have tended to ignore all advice and write longer blog pots rather than short snippets. This is partly just the way that I think, but also because I want to give developed and reasoned arguments supporting my ideas. I have tried to avoid entering into polemical slanging matches with others, and have sought to be as fair as I can be in any criticism of others I might make. I generally take quite a time to write a blog post, especially if it is on a controversial area, and will read it through multiple times until I am happy with both the content and the tone of what I am saying. I am very conscious that once something has been published it cannot be unpublished, and it is easy to speak unwisely and unthoughtfully. Blogs can have the dangerous effect of developing unhelpful personal followings, and exacerbate the problem of celebrity leaders. I always write my own blog posts and tweets and would be very uncomfortable with the idea of having anyone else writing for me. I think that is a matter of integrity. There is also a pressure in maintaining the momentum of a blog and producing regular good-quality posts, and sometimes I feel this pressure on top of everything else that I have to do.

GD: Which blogs do you most enjoy reading and why?

I read, or more often skim, a range of blogs which stimulate my thinking and give me an insight into what is happening across a broad spectrum of evangelicalism. On a regular basis I keep up with (in no particular order):

Reformation 21

Desiring God

Justin Taylor (The Gospel Coalition)

Kevin DeYoung

Credo

The Proclaimer

Andy’s Study

A Faith to Live By

Blog and MaBlog

Krish Khandia

Blog of Dan

Archbishop Cranmer

Grace Preacher

Adrian Warnock

Albert Mohler

Theology Matters

Pastor Mark

and of course Exiled Preacher

There are a range of other blogs that I dip into from time to time. I follow a number of other leaders on Twitter and this enables me to dip into their blogs.

GD: What do you do to relax?

I am not sure that I am very good at relaxing! I love to read, so my ideal is to settle down with a good book. I love novels and thrillers with a plot that draws me in. I swim regularly and enjoy listening to a wide range of music. I enjoy watching good quality drama (we are currently working our way through the West Wing and have nearly finished series 5) and films.

GD: Which character from post-New Testament church history would you most like to meet and what would you say to him/her?

I look forward to meeting John Calvin and asking him why he retained such a strong element of sacramentalism in his understanding of the Lord’s Supper, and whether he was really convinced by his arguments in favour of infant baptism!

GD: The FIEC has a statement on Gospel Unity setting out the extents and limits of fellowship for member churches. Why is membership of the FIEC incompatible with belonging to Churches Together?

This is a very difficult issue for many because it seems harsh and judgemental to refuse to join together with others who claim the name of Christ, especially where some who belong to CT are evangelicals. However the very essence of CT is to regard people as brothers and sisters in Christ irrespective of whether or not they stand by the gospel fundamentals identified in the reformation and reflected in the FIEC Statement of Faith. CT was the successor body to the British Council of Churches, which sought structural unity between the denominations, but which did not include the Roman Catholic Church. CT includes and embraces the Roman Catholic church as legitimate brothers in Christ, as well as liberal protestants who reject the authority of the Scriptures, the cross as a propitiatory sacrifice for sins, justification by faith alone in Christ, the uniqueness of Christ as the only Saviour, and the biblical teaching which regards sexual relationships as only pleasing to God in the context of heterosexual marriage. As a family of churches we believe that it would undermine the gospel and imperil our witness to the unique saving truth of the Lord Jesus if we were to join together in mission and worship with those who deny gospel fundamentals. In our view formal membership of CT requires churches to agree with the fundamental ethos of CT, which is that doctrine is not important and that false teaching that leads people to eternal judgement need not be rejected and disciplined.

At the same time we want to enjoy, as far as is possible, good relationships with local churches. We do not practice secondary separation, so FIEC churches work together with other evangelical churches even if they belong to CT, but not under a CT auspice. We are prepared to join together other churches that would not stand with us doctrinally to engage in co-belligerence, social action and to defend our fundamental religious liberties, provided that to do so would not compromise the gospel.

GD: How do you see the relationship between the FIEC and Evangelical Anglicans?

The relationship between many FIEC churches and conservative evangelical Anglicans (which is different to Anglican evangelicals more widely) are better than they have been since 1966, because we have realised that we have so much in common. Many conservative evangelical Anglicans operate an essentially independent ecclesiology, and they regard the local church, rather than the denominational structure, as central. The emergence of the regional gospel partnerships in many areas of the country has enabled Anglicans and Free Churches to work together in training and mission. Many of the historic divisions between conservative evangelical Anglicans and the free church are, sadly, rooted in issues of class and culture rather than doctrine and ministry, resulting in misunderstanding and suspicion. Snobbery and inverted snobbery, and feelings of superiority and inferiority, are rife, damaging and inconsistent with the gospel.

Free church evangelicals need to understand that their Anglican brothers have remained in the Church of England out of a genuine conviction that they represent the historic confessional reformed faith of the church, and because they believe that they enjoy great gospel opportunities as a result. Whilst we may not agree with these convictions, we need to make sure that we respect the integrity with which they are held and do not assume that there is a lack of integrity motivated by purely pragmatic considerations. Whereas a previous generation of Anglican evangelicals saw an opportunity to win over the church as a whole, today they seem to be a beleaguered minority as a result of the introduction of women’s ordination, the prospect of women bishops and the issue of homosexuality. There are many “independent” Anglican churches that are being planted outside of official diocesan structures, and many of these are almost identical in practice to an FIEC church. The future of conservative evangelicals within the Church of England seems to me to be very uncertain, and it is vital that we support and encourage our brothers, and ensure that the FIEC would be welcoming home if there were to find it no longer possible, or beneficial for the gospel, to remain.

GD: Since the Cheltenham Bible Festival in 2007 the FIEC has not had a conference for its churches. Are there any plans to resurrect an annual FIEC event?

There has been a huge amount of feedback over the last few years lamenting the loss of the FIEC annual event. There is no prospect of resurrecting an event on the model of the old Caister or Pwhwlli conferences, both because it would be difficult to find a suitable venue during the Easter school holidays, and also because we would not wish to compete with New Word Alive, which is serving the purpose of providing a bible-centred holiday week at that time and did not exist when the FIEC conference was at its height. However we are looking into the possibility of a smaller scale event of some kind for the FIEC constituency, perhaps at the very end of the summer or during the autumn. I have established a feasibility study and we are investigating a number of possible venue options for 2015. Watch this space!

GD: The FIEC churches in our area (Wiltshire/Bath/Somerset) have been organised into small clusters of congregations within the wider group. This has facilitated deeper fellowship within the clusters and has made it simpler for churches to work together in mission. Do you think that clustering might be a way forward for other FIEC areas?

I think that this is absolutely essential if FIEC is to be meaningful for churches at a local level. I would love to see this happening all over the country. However it is not something that we can organise or drive centrally. We can only encourage and envision. Clusters only come together and work well if there are a number of local church leaders who have a vision for FIEC in the area, and who are prepared to give the time and energy to making them work. I am devoting a great deal of time this autumn to 24 or so 90^th Anniversary celebrations around the country. I will be very pleased if one result of this is that local churches start to meet together more frequently for join services to encourage each other. In the past this was common on a Saturday, but with modern life that no longer works well. It requires churches to decide to hold a joint Sunday evening service, or to cancel their mid-week meetings in favour of something collective, if more than a handful of congregation members are to come.

GD: How might we ensure that pastors continue to develop in theological depth and spiritual passion?

This is a vitally important issue and one that requires a multifaceted answer. Nothing can take away from the responsibility of individual Pastors to make their spiritual growth and development a personal priority. They need to make sure that they take time for prayer, preparation, reading and on-going study. They need to exercise self-discipline in this regard and to learn to say “no” to good things in order to make sure that they have time for the essential. Churches have a key role to play in ensuring that they allow their pastors to have time for personal development and maintaining spiritual passion. The pastor cannot always be instantly available to all the needs of the congregation. Churches need to give their pastors time for refreshment, personal retreats, to attend helpful conferences, perhaps to undertake a part-time course of some kind. Churches might perhaps think of giving their pastors financial help to purchase books and attend conferences that will be of help. Then there is the vital role of fellowship and support between pastors, encouraging and spurring one another on. This may be through regular fraternals, preaching groups, or informal meetings. It is good if pastors can find one or two others to pray with regularly on a more personal basis. The FIEC cannot provide and organise this for every pastor, but we can try to ensure that every FIEC pastor has a “link-pastor” who will proactively care for them and encourage them, and our new National Support Team has been brought together by Richard Underwood (our Pastoral Director) to move this forwards. The FIEC Leaders Conference and the new Hub Conference for those training for ministry, also seek to develop a lasting network of relationships between our pastors, bringing them together as a “band of brothers” serving the Lord.

One of the encouragements of the FIEC at the moment is the number of men who are undertaking serious theological study in preparation for ministry. In previous generations there was a tradition of rejecting the need for formal theological training within FIEC, in part because of the lack of solid conservative evangelical seminaries in the UK, but this has changed over the last 20 years. The next generation of pastors, especially for larger and medium sized churches are likely to be better trained and have a deeper theological depth as they commence there ministry than was the case in the past. The danger is that this might result in pride, and failing to keep growing, or of a theological depth that it not accompanied by a spiritual passion for Christ, people and the lost.

GD: Name your top three songs or pieces of music.

I hate these kinds of questions because I have a broad and eclectic taste in music and my top choices will constantly change. My all-time favourite hymn is How firm a foundation (which was sung at our wedding). My current favourite modern hymn is By faith we see the hand of God. In classic music probably Elgar’s Cello Concerto. Popular music impossible to pick a single favourite song but I have sad liking for the 80s! Current favourite album is Leonard Cohen Old Ideas, but am looking forward to listening to Bob Dylan Tempest.

GD: What is the most helpful theological book that you have read in the last twelve months, and why?

The most helpful book I have read is Gilbert & DeYoung, What is the Mission of the Church? because it puts its finger on a key issue confronting evangelicals today, namely the extent to which social action and cultural transformation are the mission and purpose of the church. It seems to me that the social gospel is sneaking back into evangelicalism by the back door and that the seeds of the next liberalism are already being sown amongst the next generation of evangelicals because of a lack of clarity about the task of the church to call people to repentance and faith and to wait for the eschatological kingdom that will come only with the return of Jesus.

GD: What is the biggest problem facing Evangelicalism in the UK, and how might we best respond to it?

There are many big problems facing UK evangelicalism, including doctrinal drift and incipient liberalism, division and a lack of coherence in our response to the secular situation in which we find ourselves, a demographic time bomb facing the churches as congregations age (the next generation won’t be religious simply because they turn 60!), the difficulty of sustaining gospel witness in many rural areas of the country, the social segregation and cultural divide between the middle classes and the benefit dependent. However I suspect that the greatest problem is the lack of confidence in the gospel as the power of God for salvation, the discouragement of seeing relatively little fruit from faithful and prayerful ministry, and the danger of being ashamed of Christ in a culture which rejects and despises him and those who confess him as Lord.       

GD: Well, thanks for dropping by for this conversation, John. Hopefully see you at our local FIEC 90 bash in Chippenham on 22nd November.